O’Neill graduation change

New ceremony date is Tuesday, June 25

The date for O’Neill High School’s Class of 2019 graduation ceremony has changed, due to West Point’s R-Day.

State-wide, high school testing and graduations are late this year, Principal Debbie Brand told the Board of Education last week, and school officials here just learned that Eisenhower Hall — where O’Neill’s graduation has been held for the past dozen or so years — would be unavailable to them on Thursday, June 27 as West Point prepares for the arrival of the USMA Class of 2023.

So, the O’Neill ceremony will be moved back to Tuesday, June 25, she told the Board of Ed members. It will still take place at Eisenhower Hall.

A complication of the date change could include the senior bash (it’s held mainly in the gymnasium of the high school, but because underclassmen could still be taking Regents exams and other tests at that point, the gym may not be available).

In addition, some final grades for graduating seniors may not be in yet on Tuesday, which could determine various honors for diplomas. Program inserts with those honors could be mailed home to graduates, she said, following the receipt of final grades, Brand said.